The subject invention is directed to a convertible waterproof and airtight cable splice enclosure assembly. Assemblies of the type under consideration are particularly suited for enclosing and housing fiber optic cables such as loose buffer and unitube type cables and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, the apparatus could equally well be used with other types of cables or wires such as, for example, hybrid cables including copper wire, twisted pair wire or co-axial cables.
Many different types of fiber optic cable enclosures are known in the prior art. These prior enclosures are satisfactory to a greater or lesser degree but often have certain defects which make them inconvenient to use or prevent them from being readily adaptable to changing environments and conditions. One example of a optical fiber splice case that presents a significant improvement over the earlier devices found in the prior art is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,939, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference. In addition to providing improvements over the various prior art devices, the subject optical fiber splice case presents further significant new advances over the earlier apparatus as well.
Service providers (i.e. communication companies) are providing fiber optic links directly to a home, business, apartment, and even the farm. In order for service providers to keep their infrastructure costs low, a terminal enclosure must be provided to allow for ease of initial installation into service, and time savings for adding (linking) individual subscribers. Adding an individual subscriber is commonly referred to as providing a drop. Adding a drop in existing enclosure designs requires splicing on the fiber tray. This is achieved by removing an enclosure from its location and taking it into a temperature controlled environment. Highly skilled personnel then reenter the enclosure and use laser splicing equipment to add the new service (drop). While performing these tasks, any signals passing through the enclosure have the potential to be disturbed. This operation also requires the critical seals of the enclosure to be effected each time new service is added.